Carol Alvarez hasn't been able to keep up with her mortgage payments because she's been paying her son's high medical expenses. Alvarez is losing her home of 20 years at 2101 Melholland Road through foreclosure. Mortgage foreclosures are on the rise in Lawrence. In August, the rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgages was 0.40 percent, up from 0.20 percent for the same month in 2007.

Alvarez blames her financial problems on her adult son's medical bills. He has diabetes and related medical problems, including possible damage to his liver and kidneys, she said. He has no insurance and can't work, she said.

Although Alvarez also owes more than she can pay in medical bills, she said she decided to focus her efforts in paying them and seeing that he continues to get some medical treatment.

"I chose my son over mortgage payments," Alvarez said. "The house is not a priority."

Mortgage foreclosures are increasing in Lawrence. In August, the rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans was 0.40 percent, up from 0.20 percentfor the same month in 2007. Consumer credit counselors say more people are having trouble making their payments because other expenses are going up, and one of those expenses is health care.

Medical bill debt is a growing problem for people, even those who have health insurance, said Devon Kim, executive director of Haase and Long Inc., a Lawrence debt collection firm.

People who are insured are looking more like they were uninsured because of very high deductibles and health savings accounts that are not funded, Kim said.

"You end up with someone who looks like they should have coverage, but they are responsible for a large portion of their bill," Kim said.

Much of Haase and Long's business is contracting with hospitals and others in the medical field to collect debt payments. It also collects other types of debts, but it is not the type of firm that harasses debtors with angry late-night phone calls, Kim said. The firm conducts a financial screening to determine the best options for getting a bill paid. Someone might qualify for Medicare disability, for example, she said.

"Our whole approach is solutions-oriented," Kim said. "There's a lot of different ways to look at this."

Paying medical bills is at the low end of the priority list among people who are having economic troubles, Kim said. Because of the national economic situation, she foresees more people having trouble paying their bills, especially utility costs.

"I suspect that (paying) school loans also will start to take the back burner if the economy continues a downturn," Kim said.

The house Alvarez has lived in for 20 years at 2102 Melholland Road will be sold Thursday in a sale conducted by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. She needs to find a place to live that will allow her to keep her dog and cat. The search is hindered because she doesn't have a car.

Alvarez, who has a part-time job since retiring after 39 years as a teacher, has considered moving to another country. She's thought about Costa Rica, where the cost of living would be cheaper.

"We could get a small place there, and I could afford the medical care," she said. "But I don't want to do that. This is a nice neighborhood. Whoever gets the house will be lucky."

Comments

Just think -- they own the paper, a phone company, the largest internet provider in Douglas county, and they own the only local cable company!!! They tell us only what they want us to believe!Do any of you remember the sob story article immediately after the Alvarez family house burned? Again, facts in that article were not correct. the LJW repeatedly and knowingly publish half truths.

"However, it's really time to think about leveling the distribution of income, at least for the next 8 years."Kudos to livingstone for at least being honest about being a Marxist, which most of the Obamamama supporters deny.

She honestly was a teacher... (Deerfield and retired from West) If you would call it that, horrible. She even has a degree in administration, thats what always scared me. She was not forced out, more like persuaded that she was old enough to retire. She always had the option, once a year, of adding her son to her district health insurance. I agree that this is just another ploy to get a fund set up for her. She is a frequent flyer at the soup kitchen as well. Nothing is worse than taking advantage of people and taking from people that really need the help. One of my pet peeves, taking advantage of the niceties that are set up to help the homeless or less fortunate. She is less fortunate by choice.

Ms. Alvarez did nothing wrong herself?? She was an enabler by allowing him to run his "business" out of her home. Of course he has possible damage to his liver and kidneys, thats what happens when you do drugs for 20+ years. Its sad that someone's life is ruined by drug use. But dont turn this into a sob story because you choose not to present all the facts. Talk about one-sided reporting. Just goes to show you really cant believe all you read in the paper!!

Of course she chose her son! But she had other choices she should have been making along the way.... Responsible choices. Things don't always go the way we want them to. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the things/people who really matter to us. It's not the job of our government to 'make everything alright' every time there's a crisis in our lives. Grow up. Take responsibility. Now that she walks away from this mess...who do you think will pay??? This is how we got here folks, not in George's limo....

My family and I would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to Ms. Alvarez and her son. My family too has suffered the loss of our home do to a sick child. With insurance companies making millions and picking what they will and will not cover, put us in a position to choose our daughter or our financial security (For example; she was six months old the insurance company would only cover 500 miligram tablets for her seizures, common since says a 6 month old cant swallow that, and the insurance company wouldnt cover the liquid so out of pocket we had to spend 100.00 month. Then when it came time for surgeries and a year at Childrens Mercy, the hospital was covered to a point but the doctors within were not because they were privately contracted.) What has our country come to. My husband works for citizens of this country everyday as a Police Officer and yet he is repayed by a shotty judicial system and a minimal amount of pay that at times we dont even know how we can afford groceries. Here is the ultimate question; why should these people suffer to benefit the corporate giants and insurance companies. Why is everyone still trying to make even more money off those who are struggling everyday. And further what is the governement going to do about all of those families who have already lost everything (ie there homes, credit, dreams, and desires to continue on)?

Mr. Kealing,Since you claim to have known all the facts, why weren't they included in the story. Isn't that part of the basics of reporting, you know, those W's?Do you ever write any uplifting stories, or must they be all doom and gloom? Is spreading the misery part of the plan to fund the empty buses, share the wealth and get a certain candidate elected so he can elevate everyone from the depths of despair?

While CEO's ,Congressmen; and Wall Street Executives; cheat on their wifes; and steal money from the American people; this is what happens too hard working honest americans. Meanwhile our soldiers continue too die in foreign lands while the people our soldiers are protecting over there could care less. I've been there.............Vietnam Veteran69-70

Hello,Just to clarify, we were aware of Ms. Alvrez's son's history when we wrote the story. We discussed it, did some investigation and concluded that while the criminal history likely made her life more difficult, it didn't change the fact that a woman who lived in a house for 20 years - and had done nothing wrong herself - was about to lose her home.Jonathan KealingOnline editor

"Confrontation (Anonymous) says: It'll only get worse if McSame gets his way. No one will be immune, unless you're extremely rich."Do you mean more drug user/dealers being thrown out of their neighborhoods? I certainly hope so.Do you mean we won't have as much of a welfare state as we will under Obama? I certainly hope so.

The "socialist" system that Mccain and Palin slammed by Obama and Biden may actually work this time in order to eliminate the current problem: Socialistic distribution of responsibilities and wealth for the top 5%, and capitalistic distribution of wealth and responsibilities for the rest of the 95%. What's wrong for 40-45% of the population who never pay tax? Where did Mccain get his data from? My son doesn't pay tax. They're too young to work. And if one earns $2 million a year, where do they normally spend their money? You betcha, not in reinvesting in order to get more jobs, but for more luxurious goods that are normally produced overseas. I'm personally "rich" myself, as I will be affected by Obama's tax increase. However, it's really time to think about leveling the distribution of income, at least for the next 8 years.

Pepople, people...Though the economy has produced many many sad stories, I am shocked that this one was picked to share. There are some other factors that were not mentioned as to why Carol Alvrez is loosing her "house". Her sons kidney problems could be caused by his illegal drug use that he was arrested for 3 years ago. That may be why he does not receive any benefits to help with medical expenses.

I'm disappointed in our reporting. Get all the facts before printing! This presents a very sad story, but in reality is due to both Carlol Alvrez and son's choices. The police records for this address are public record. The felony charges are public record. The history of this family is public record. Why could the paper not find a family to report on that was a victim of our economy and not a pattern of illegal activity by public record alone. Very disappointed in the reporting here! Check the facts first!

My heart goes out to this woman and her son. I do not say this to criticize, because I've been there. But I'm wondering, if her son cannot work due to illness, has he already been declined for SSI, Medicare, or even Medicaid? Isn't there some way this man can get the medical care he needs, and his mother not have to lose eveything?

While LMH's CEO makes over $400,000 per year and the hospital itself claimed $14.1 million in revenues over expenses last year!Pogo is right.......each of the debt collection agencies that LMH uses could care less about the individual's situation. They are into getting their money.........they get a portion of what they collect (usually a percentage) and LMH gets the rest.

I was thinking this is the person I thought it was but didn't want to say until somebody else mentioned it.jkealing - while I like the fact you montior and actually respond, in this case I disagree with the decision. While it does not change the fact (as you state it), it certainly sheds a different light on the subject.This woman's son is an ADULT and his problems didn't stem from some childhood complication. SHE has made the choice to support a son who has created and brought on a lot of his own problems. That is her choice and should not be written about and presented as the face of a problem that a lot of other people who have no choice face.Since you guys knew the history, to make a fair presentation that should have been included in the article in some way. That way readers can form an "objective" option, instead of forming one from a slanted story that ignores some of the causes of her problems.Heck, the son even sued the City at one time. I don't know the official outcome, but he must not have gotten a dime from them if they are in this spot. (Either that or he wasted it and didn't chose to help his mother.)

This should never happen in the wealthiest country in the world. Jesus said 'the chance of a rich man entering heaven is the same as a camel walking through the eye of a needle'. Could this apply to a whole nation?

My younger brother has type 1 diabetes. He's in his mid twenties and is already having serious complications. He hadn't been to a doctor in 4 years, after his employer stopped providing insurance. It's terrifying! It's so incredibly difficult to find insurance in these types of situations. My heart truly goes out to this family.

I'm so angry about this article that I cancelled my subscription, effective immediately! This article was meant to be a sob story so that people reading the article would feel sad for her and her son and set up another fund, this time to save her house and pay her son's medical bills. Why should hard working people pay for the choices made by drug induced choices? Ms. Alvarez will never be able to pay her son's medical bills. Why should she? He's an adult. As a neighbor of the Alvarez house, I hope they are gone very soon. Then I can let my children play outside without the fear that one of the many cars coming and going from the Alvarez house, day and night, won't kill one of my children. Why didn't the LJW report that the son was released from prison early, because our prisons are too full? Neither of them deserve any sympathy. She lied or the writer of the article lied by stating she was a retired teacher. LJW, get your facts before you print.

He did get 3000.00 from that lawsuit and she received 98,000,000.00 for the inacurate account of articles she claimed she lost in the fire. The house is in a very nice neighborhood, a place that I would like to live. The people I know that live there are all honest individuals, a neighborhood that in my opinion, Carol and son does not deserve to live in. Dishonesty has a way of coming back to bite you in the a$$.

The message that I would like to convey here, as well as others... Carol lets others do her fishing, she steals their fish. People in the school district offered her furnishings after the fire, she would not make arrangements to pick them up. Can you deliver the couch to me? Good people were making donations, which was thought to help her, only to find out the opposite, she was helping herself to financial gain to help her adult son. I am sickened to think that people like this uses the system to benefit themselves and wants sympathy as their lives sour. Shame on you Carol. Seriously people, she received compensation for the fire (fraud), she should be held responsible for squandering it. Lets not fall victim, and help bail her out yet again.

As a retired school teacher, the lady isn't ignorant of the many public assistance programs out there, such as social security disability, SSI, medicaid, pharmacy company assistance, and Health Care Access. While I have no reason to dispute his diabetic claim, I sincerely doubt he falls into the disabled category, or else, he would have applied for benefits and received a medical card. And I wouldn't be surprised if he was denied by Health Access, given the total monthly household income (mom's social security, KPERS, and part time job) Sounds like she simply couldn't say no to her son's daily requests for "walking around money," while foolishly ignoring the growing mortgage delinquency. Perhaps the medical bill story was cooked up as an excuse for family and friends when foreclosure appeared inevitable. After all, when you can't save your house, what's wrong with saving a little face. While she is probably a victim of her son's manipulation and control, there's simply too many holes in the story to offer her much sympathy.

Alright Lawrence!!! Finally, there is some logic to your thinking! This story, and many others like it, are the epitome of Lawrence's image as a welfare shelter. It draws homeless people here like a magnet!! There is nothing wrong, in fact it is EXEMPLARY for neighbors to take care of neighbors -- and in many religions it's considered the right thing to do every day of our lives. I'm all for feeding the hungry, taking care of the sick -- but one must differentiate 'help' from 'forgery'. There are many folks out there, sadly, that are simply waiting for the next handout. It must stop! Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; TEACH a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.

"Confrontation (Anonymous) says: Guardian, I understand that you're not smart enough to figure out what I meant. That's why you vote Republican." So you resort to insults when you get defensive and can't back up your speculations. How typically Liberal. That's OK! As long as it makes you feel better.

The reason Carol doesn't want to work full time is that she will lose a check she gets now if she works more hours. Therefore, shes doesn't want to not get her "free" money and work less..... Yes, why would she want to actually make an effort to make $ and save her house when she can get it for "free" or ask for donations or charity.

It seems unethical that the LJW published such a lop sided article on Carol Avarez. If I was so unfortunate to be in foreclosure, I certainly would be outraged that Carol Alverez and her son were highlighted in a news story about forclosures due to the current economy. Their forclosure is due to bad choices and drugs. I am so sorry that a neighborhood in Lawrence may be subjected to their presence. We have fought for 20+ years to get the drug dealer out of our neighborhood. Perhaps, we just may.....

beobachterI have nothing to prove to you! All I am doing is stating what I saw with my own 2 eyes, I do not answer to you, or anyone else. I am simply speaking for myself when I say, this story would have been much more effective if the LJW would have used a much more accountable person or persons. I know what I saw, and I know what I know. Green is not Carols son, McCormick is. I know Carol, this is not a personal agenda, I am not a friend, I walk the other way when she is headed my way. The drama that surrounds this woman is unreal, and mostly brought on herself by enabling her son. I could go on and on, but like I said before...I have nothing to prove to you and your thoughts are none of my concern. My heart goes out to the neighbors that have had to endure this family in their neighborhood. Hopefully after Thursday, Melholland will be a much quieter addition and children will be once again at play.

I certainly don't know all the facts-- clearly, not many do at this time. But Ms. Alvarez appears to be a ready recipient of any 'handouts'. Let's be careful not to make these folks into 'heroes' in our culture. What a sham/scam it is to appear as 'victims' when folks like Ms. Alvarez are clearly healthy and able to make sacrifices on their own to find solutions for misfortune in their lives. Perhaps she was 'denied' the opportunity for empowering herself and finding a greater self worth by making responsible choices on her own and rising above the situation. Perhaps she would like being a 'fisherwoman' as opposed to a 'beggar'.

Neutral party here! I see where beo is going with his questioning. I don't think he's doubting the illegal activities that appear to have happened at that residence. His point is that how does pickaname know how much she got for insurance claims? He has asked many times for the source to be given and it has not. Pickaname is making claims without backing them up.I do not know these people. I do know that while I was checking out at Dillon's yesterday, the clerk saw the paper and said that Alvarez had been a teacher of his and he was very saddened to see this article. From everything I've heard, she was a teacher.While I agree that you shouldn't be an enabler to your children, she is a mom. Who can blame the woman for trying to protect her child? Like I said - neutral party here. No need to start attacking. Just trying to clarify some stuff because it looks like lots of emotions are involved here.

All I know of is a daughter in Kansas City. By all that I have seen, she is the most "normal", except she did write the forged list of items lost in the fire, or at least did the all the research as to what to claim. ie, what would get mom the most $$$$.

story #1: Carol was bitten by an oppossum, why because she tried to save it from the neighbohood dogs, so she put it in a dog carrier and placed it in her car. Huh, a wild animal in a car. If the oppossum did not chew its way out of the carrier and the car, it stayed in the carrier and left all kinds of stink behind. I told you in an earlier post how stupidly drama filled this womans life is.story #2: Forgot to put the car in park, stopped got our and the car rolled into a parking post, bending the drivers door backwards.story #3: Before the fire, she was letting her sons pet snake sleep in the same bed with her.story #4: People that donated items to her after the fire had to contact her several times for pick-up. Several of these people ended up donating to Penn House due to her needing more help to retreive items.There is NO PERSONAL vindetta. I just hate stupid people that expect the community to pick her up time after time after time after time. And Carol can always go to work back at the schools, either here or in another district. When she was working full time, she was also working part time. A masters degree in stupidity takes less time to obtain than all of her degress, I believe she has 3 or 4 masters. I am not attacking her when she is down, I have always, always told her to open her eyes and pull her head out of her a$$. Get out of the pitty pool and move on. Poor me, well B.S., you broke it Carol...So fix it!

Karma: If we accept that the logical ethical consequence of the law of karma is to behave responsibly, and the tenet of the law of karma is essentially "if you do good things, good things will happen to you - if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you,"According to karma, performing positive actions results in a good condition in one's experience, whereas a negative action results in a bad effect. The effects may be seen immediately or delayed.Through the law of karma, the effects of all deeds actively create past, present, and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to him/her and others.

The writer should have done his homework. The story line should have read, "Mom Paying Drug Dealers Medical Bills Looses Home". It is a matter of public record the current and past troubles of her son. She should kick the 30 something bumb out and let him go on Medicade.

I have a solution for our problems. All the sports figures and idolized actors and musicians should give half their income to teachers, police officers and fire fighters. I'm not against the entertainment industries but there is something wrong when entertainers make more than people who save and affect lives.

story #1: Carol was bitten by an oppossumI had forgot about that. Yes, well the non-domesticated animal did make it into the home. Not sure if this is the same bite, but it also bit her in her kitchen when she was trying to pick it up in the middle of the night. Okay why would you bring that kind of animal into your home of 20yrs?

beobachter----were you ever in the house prior to the fire? do you know that the insurance claim was correct? if you lived in the neighborhood you would understand. You seem to be defending something you know absolutely nothing about. Its called fraud.

That this can happen to ANYONE is our country is beyond belief...A teacher gives her entire life to others, gets' dumped on because of her son's health. Is this really a free country with free enterprise? What kind of ignorant rhetoric is that? The public, ie, working folks, need to DEMAND guaranteed health care, and protection from bankruptcy for such problems. Also, the reference to student loans indicates our need for REAL student aid for college students...what has happened to our country and society? Why are we taking this treatment while the ultra wealthy enslave us? Rise up and make your rights YOURS!!! Power to the people!!!!

No BS last time I checked.....fraud and drug dealing are illegal. Public records dont lie....look it up. And yes, I do have a personal agenda...obeying the law, paying my bills, and doing the right thing. Its important to me that my neighborhood is kept safe for children and families.

Can I protest against pickaname's fence-spying without siding with beobachter? Because I don't want to do that.The problem is a single story that's trying to be tied to a overall trend. Always gonna be a problem.

beobachter (Anonymous) says: "No, I just don't like seeing someone attack someone when they are down. Especially when it appears most of it is nothing but made up crap. This clown seems to hate her for some unknown reason, I don't care why, but its obvious he does. Know absolutely nothing about her other than what was in the paper. pickaname definitely has an agenda, not I."Nothing but made up crap? Knowing absolutely nothing about her than other what was in the paper?Dude, when you witness it first hand, it ain't made up. Those of us who are telling this side of the story are doing so because we see it happen everyday. What someone does is their business, until it oversteps the boundary and affects your life as well. When your quality of living and safety for that matter are affected by these people, of course you have an agenda. Its called looking out for yourself and the safety of your neighbors. We know what we are talking about.

Pogo (Anonymous) says: "Don't be fooled, Haase and Long Inc. are into high pressure collection methods."Having spent 3 years working there, I can state that it was not our primary policy, but our goal was always to actually get people to work on paying the bills, which does require the dropping of extraneous excuses. That is, of course, somewhat variable from collector to collector, but the majority in the office (at least when I was there) were reasonably willing to work with people.Perhaps you should define what you think high-pressure collections actually means. Asking them to pay? Lawsuits? What're we going on?

Its not so much about her choices as a parent and the illegal activity that takes place at their home, but more so the idea that the Journal World decided to print only what they wanted and not all the facts. Regardless of her situation, LJW should have included all sides to the story if they were going to write the article. The point is, dont believe the crap your being fed.

Ya know, I think beobachter gets his/her kicks from arguing with us. Click on his name and read his other posts in different stories. Its all negative comments against other posters. Looks like his all time post total is 1595. Do you have a life?

Beobachter--if you would put 2 and 2 together you could see that McCormick is the resident at 2102 Melholland, AKA Carol's son. The links I provided were to the on the record section that included many stories. If you would have read it, you would have figured that out. Im not talking about the insurance check, Im talking about criminal drug activity at the residence. After Thursday, good riddence!

As hard as it may be to do this, finding a new job or another job to pay for these additional expenses seems to be a good option. The article says that she works a part time job but maybe she can return to a full time position for a while and get caught up with her payments. Meeting financial ends is going to be a problem for more and more baby boomers; methinks that returning to the work force after retirement is going to be a very common reality.

"beobachter (Anonymous) says: .... I think we were discussing the BS you and few others were posting."You're so big on the proof issue, I challenge you to prove them wrong. It should be easy for someone as smart as you. We'll wait.

Beo, you pushed my button, I am tired of you so I have to speak up. I worked for Carol in the classroom. I was there the day she found out she was going to receive the $98,000 check. I personally tried talking to her about her son and how he is controlling her. She will defend her son till her death and he is certainly driving her to an early grave. She has given me every excuse possible of why he can't work. His only job on this earth is to spend Carol's money. I witnessed him coming to our classroom and using the computer to try to find out how much he could sell something for. He can drive a car and he can work out at the gym.Carol has a good heart, but she is confused and really needs some mental health help. Everyone who knows Carol knows her son is no good, but he has everything he wants thanks to Carol. Again I say, he has total control over her. I spent a year watching her losing control. The reason she is no longer at West was because they gave her the option of retiring or being asked to quit. She retired with a smile on her face which was covering the pain in her heart. Some have said that she is also involved in the drugs, I don't know, but I would guess not. She never seemed to be under the influence of anything other than her son. I could tell you more, but I want her to have some pride.I hope and pray that some professional could help her in getting rid of son.Oh, by the way, she loves animals, they love her without conditions.Her only problem was giving birth to her son.

beo, You are making accusations, therefore the onus is on you to prove them. You demand proof which you were given. Now it'sd your turn. Instead, you choose to sit back in cowardly fashion and make blanket statements in a situation where you are the only one who has no clue to what the facts are. Perhaps you live in a box under the bridge or maybe mommy and daddy pay your bills for you, but if you had any idea what the real world was like, you would know that $98,000 to repair a split-level, three or four bedroom home that has been gutted by fire is chicken feed. That is just repairing the structural damage and does not include insuring the contents. And you can drive by 2102 Melholland and see that for yourself.Perhaps this is something you will learn when you start paying your own way.